Sensitive in Sedona
by LadyT
Summary: While vacationing in Arizona, Fraser and RayK spend a day in Sedona checking out the local metaphysical hotspots before heading up to the Grand Canyon. (written for a RacineStreet Challenge)


Sensitive in Sedona  
by TheLadyT  
  
"Hey Frase--what's a vortice?"  
  
"That's 'vortex', Ray."  
  
"Nope. Says right in that brochure that there are five vortices surrounding Sedona."  
  
"Yes, Ray. There are five vortices, but each of those vortices is called a vortex."  
  
"Then yer sayin' a vortice is a vortex?"  
  
"No. More than one vortex is referred to as several vortices."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Stop, Ray!"  
  
"Listen, Frase, if I wanna ask questions, you don't hafta answer, but don't tell me to stop!"  
  
"No, Ray. I mean stop the car. Now!"  
  
Ray pulled the rental car onto the dirt shoulder and stopped. Several white trailers were set up on the other side of the road.  
  
"Do you realize what these people are doing?"  
  
"We're on vacation, Fraser. We're not here to arrest people."  
  
"No, no, Ray. That's not what I mean. We just passed a sign that said 'X-Files Crew Ahead'."  
  
"Huh? Ya mean that television show?"  
  
"Yes! They must be filming on location here."  
  
"Yeah, right, Frase." Ray pulled the car back onto the road. "Which one of them vortices are we goin' to first?"  
  
"Ray! They were FILMING the X-FILES back there. Aren't you the least bit curious?"  
  
"I dunno what you saw back there, but they don't advertise when a famous show is filming."  
  
"Suit yourself, Ray."  
  
"Which vortice are we hittin' first?"  
  
"Vortex. And we're going to the Airport Vortex. I wonder if David Duchovney was there."  
  
"Airport? There aren't any airports here."  
  
"According to this map, there's a small airport for single and double prop planes less than a kilometer farther down this road to the left. The vortex is right near there."  
  
"So, is this one o' them female ones or a male one?"  
  
"It's masculine or feminine. I think I might have seen Gillian Anderson. Turn up here, Ray."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Here....left....here....Ray!"  
  
"Jeez, Frase. I'm turning already."  
  
"Thank you kindly, Ray."  
  
"So....which is it?"  
  
"Which is what?"  
  
"The vortice...vortex...whatever. Male or female?"  
  
"That's masculine or feminine."  
  
"Fraser!"  
  
"This one's feminine."  
  
"Thank you!" Ray pulled into what appeared to be a small dirt alcove near a large mound of very red rocks and dirt. "Damn. Those look like...."  
  
"Don't say it, Ray."  
  
"Oooh, okay. Besides, they're not perfect anyways. One's bigger than the other."  
  
"According to the brochure, the energy is supposed to be the strongest at the concave point on the vortex."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The dip between the smaller and larger humps, Ray."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"However, it does say that most people can feel the energy at most places around the vortex, and certain individuals can feel the energy from great distances."  
  
"I'm feeling a little funny, Frase."  
  
"I told you to eat something before we left the hotel. Coffee simply..."  
  
"My stomach's fine. This is sumpthin' different."  
  
"What do you mean, Ray? We're at least eight or nine meters from the mound."  
  
"I dunno, but I'm feelin' kinda freaky. All tingly and stuff."  
  
"Well, Ray, perhaps you are more sensitive to the energies."  
  
"Eew. I dunno if I want that."  
  
"I don't think you have a choice in the matter."  
  
"Well...it's not like I'm feelin' bad or nuthin', so I guess it's okay." Ray gave his entire body a shake. "It's just....weird."  
  
"I would think that with your affinity for junk food, caffeine, and the other noxious substances of city life that your sensitivities would be dulled. However, perhaps there is...."  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I jus' put my foot on that thing an'....whoa....tha' was freaky, Frase."  
  
"Come on, Ray. It's just a mound. It can't hurt you."  
  
"You don't understand. I'm talkin' major freaky, here."  
  
"Did it hurt?"  
  
"Well...no."  
  
"Then come on. I want to climb to the top."  
  
"Doesn't this stuff bother you?"  
  
"What stuff, Ray?"  
  
"This stuff. This energy stuff. It's kinda like it flows through ya....from the top o' yer head to the bottoms o' yer feet."  
  
"I don't know what you mean. My. This is a nice view. Oh, look--those trailers we passed--I think they're leaving."  
  
"Where? I can't see 'em."  
  
"Over there. Put your glasses...oh, you have them on. Well, they're over there. I believe they're packing up to go to a new location."  
  
"All I see is a couple'a white specks."  
  
"See? They're moving, Ray."  
  
"Whatever, Frase. I just think this energy stuff is weird. I mean, doesn't it seem kinda freaky to you?"  
  
"I...don't..."  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"Well...no...I may....well..."  
  
"Yer kiddin', right? I mean, I'm not like one o' them psycho weirdos, but..."  
  
"That's psychic, Ray."  
  
"Whatever, Frase. I'm not one of 'em. But this stuff is strange. What's the difference between the male and female stuff anyways?"  
  
"That's masculine or feminine."  
  
"Whatever!"  
  
"Masculine energy flows up and out of the Earth. Feminine energy flows down and into the Earth."  
  
"Well, this stuff is definitely the femi....femini....female stuff 'cause it's definitely fallin' down through me. Ya really don't feel it?"  
  
"Ah...well...I..."  
  
"Come on, Frase. Let's go check out that concle...um--what was that place you said was supposed to be strongest?"  
  
"The concave point between the mounds--the low point."  
  
"Yeah. There. Let's go check that out. Maybe you'll feel it there."  
  
"I...well...I feel *something* now."  
  
"Man, Frase. This stuff is amazin'. I can't believe you don't feel it."  
  
"Well, Ray, some people are just more sensitive than others!"  
  
"Don't get snippy with me, buddy. It's not my fault yer not sensitive. Here--let's try something. Hold yer arms out...like this. Still nuthin'?"  
  
"I really don't see any difference."  
  
"Yer not suppos'ta see anything, yer suppos'ta feel it. Okay. Try this. Hol' yer palms out flat, facin' the ground."  
  
"I still don't see..."  
  
"Give it a minute, Frase. Now, turn yer palms face up. Yeah, like that. Now hold it. Kay? Okay, now, turn 'em back down to face the ground. Did ya feel any difference between the two?"  
  
"Well...there *was* a slight tickling sensation in my palms when they were turned upward, and when they were faced downward I got a slight falling sensation, as though I was pouring something onto the ground."  
  
"That's it! See? Ya got it!"  
  
"Ah...well...this is all very interesting. Did you want to go to the next one now?"  
  
  
* * * * *  
  
  
"Oooo. Bell Rock was even cooler than that Airport place."  
  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"That was a male one, right?"  
  
"Masculine!"  
  
"Jeez, Frase, ya don't have to get snippy about it."  
  
"I said I didn't want to talk about it."  
  
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to see all them vortex-thingys. *I* jus' wanted to see that Picture Rock."  
  
"Well we're going to Picture Rock now."  
  
"Yer jealous."  
  
"That's ridiculous."  
  
"Yer jealous 'cause I can feel stuff an'....oooooo--there's that sign you said you saw, Frase!"  
  
"Yes. 'X-Files Crew Ahead'."  
  
"Ya want me ta slow down so's you can see when we get to the trailers?"  
  
"Thank you kindly, Ray."  
  
"Sure, no problem."  
  
"I don't see any cameras anywhere."  
  
"What's under that tent? Looks like a bunch o' people ta me."  
  
"Yes! There's a table as well. I think they're taking their lunch break!"  
  
"Speakin' o' lunch, when we get to that Picture place, I'm gonna want another sandwich."  
  
"Slow down! You're going to fast for me to make out any faces."  
  
"Better?"  
  
"That's David Duchovney! I just saw David Duchovney. Oh--and there's Gillian! Wait....wait, Ray."  
  
"I'm not stoppin'."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Lissen--I slowed down the car so you could gawk, but I'm not stoppin'."  
  
"I do *not* gawk, Ray."  
  
"How much further to Picture Rock?"  
  
"Less than two kilometers."  
  
"How much is that in real distance?"  
  
"Um...a little over a mile."  
  
"I don't know about this road, Frase. It seems like we're gettin' really far out. Are you sure we're on the right road?"  
  
"Yes, Ray. It's winding just as it's shown on the map. We should be able to see Picture Rock after it curves again."  
  
"I'm gettin' thirsty."  
  
"Look--there's the other side of Finger Rock! See--I told you it had three fingers!"  
  
"Right, cool. I'm tryin' to drive here, Frase."  
  
"Well excuse me for pointing out local landmarks of interest!"  
  
"Yer gettin' snippy again, Frase."  
  
"I...well...I'm sorry."  
  
"Would ya hand me that water?"  
  
"It's still hot."  
  
"Still? We had the a-c blastin' on it since we left Bell Rock."  
  
"I told you not to leave it in the car. I told you to put it in the trunk where it would be cooler."  
  
"Never mind. I'll drink it warm."  
  
"You hate it warm."  
  
"Would you jus'....thank you! Ewweyecch!"  
  
"I told you..."  
  
"Fraser!"  
  
"Understood."  
  
"Now what does the brochure say about this Picture Rock place again?"  
  
"It says that when the sun illuminates the entire face so that you can see no shadow, you're supposed to gaze at the rock face and eventually you will see pictures form on the rock's surface."  
  
"These supposed ta be moving pictures or like jus' photographs."  
  
"It doesn't say."  
  
Ray pulled the car to the side of the road near a hill not far from a huge rock outcropping that had one face near-perfectly flat.  
  
"Wow. Don't look to me like there's no shadow on it or nuthin'."  
  
"I would say that the best view would be from about three-quarters of the way up this hill."  
  
"Let's get at her, then!"  
  
"Ray, Ray, RAY!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You wanted a sandwich?"  
  
"Oh...yeah. We got any more o' them peanut-butter n'honey ones?"  
  
  
* * * * * *  
  
  
"I'm really sorry I teased you earlier, Frase."  
  
"I know, Ray."  
  
"But I really feel bad about it."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I really didn't mean to hurt your feelin's. You know that, right?"  
  
"Ray?"  
  
"Yeah, Frase."  
  
"You saw something at Picture Rock, didn't you?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"I knew it! I knew you were hiding something from me...."  
  
"But...."  
  
"....yet you feel this overwhelming urge to protect me...."  
  
"....I'm...."  
  
"....from getting my feelings hurt, not caring that I...."  
  
"....sorry...."  
  
"....might actually take pleasure in whatever it was...."  
  
"....really...."  
  
"....that the great spirits that inhabit these areas might...."  
  
"....I...."  
  
"....show to even a *cretin* such as yourself."  
  
"Hey! I'm not a cretin! You take that back!"  
  
"I'm...sorry, Ray. I...don't know....what came over me."  
  
"Yeah, well I dunno neither."  
  
"I think it must be the air. It's thinner here. Although I am used to the thinner air of the northern mountainous regions. Perhaps it's the heat. However, the temperatures are not overtly high. The dryness might be a factor. I have noted that my skin seems to feel inordinately tight of...."  
  
"Frase--yer babblin."  
  
"Understood."  
  
"How long 'til we get to....wouldja look-it there!"  
  
"X-FILES? Again?"  
  
"Those folks sure do get around, huh."  
  
"It would appear so."  
  
"Want me ta slow down again?"  
  
"Thank you kindly, Ray, but they appear to be just setting up their trailers. I don't think there would be anything to see at this juncture."  
  
"Suit yerself."  
  
"Gillian Anderson. I saw Gillian Anderson today."  
  
"And that David Du....that Mulder guy."  
  
"It's been quite a day, Ray."  
  
"Yeah, yer not kiddin'!"  
  
"Ray?"  
  
"Yeah, Frase?"  
  
"What did you see at Picture Rock?"  
  
"You really wanna know?"  
  
"Yes, Ray. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know."  
  
"Jeez....sorry. Well, um, kin I ask you ta do somethin' for me?"  
  
"What, Ray?"  
  
"Wouldja write this down? Please? I mean, 'cause I really do wanna remember it. It was jus' so cool, ya know?"  
  
"Oh, alright."  
  
"Cool. There's paper in the glove box. An' I think a pen too."  
  
"I've found it."  
  
"You ready?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Now yer sure you wanna hear this?"  
  
"Ray!"  
  
"Okay....jeez. Well, fer starters there was this sun in the corner--upper left--but it had a face on it. Not a smiley face or nuthin'. It was jus' kinda a pleasant face, with eyes, a nose, and lips. It also had flame thingys coming out of it--not spikes or nuthin, but gentle-like."  
  
"Something like this?"  
  
"Whoa! Cool drawing, Frase."  
  
"Thank you kindly."  
  
"But don't show me no more drawings 'cause I'm drivin' and these mountain roads are kinda scary, K?"  
  
"Understood."  
  
"But keep drawing 'cause that was good!"  
  
"Thank you kindly. Ray?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Please continue."  
  
"Oh...yeah...right. K....I already toldja about the sun. Well, next was this man that appeared on the lower-left side. He had his back ta me, an' I could only see the upper half of him. Then everything kinda dissolved and reshaped itself into a buffalo. Man, that thing jus' filled up the picture."  
  
"A buffalo."  
  
"Yup. Then, when that faded, I saw sumpthin' that looked like a landscape, an' that sun was back in the same spot."  
  
"Describe the landscape."  
  
"Mostly flat. With some hills in the background. Then these stick figures started moving across the thing."  
  
"Stick figures."  
  
"Yeah. An' they were differen' sizes--like they were close up and far away. Some of them were people-like figures, an' others were animal figures."  
  
"Understood."  
  
"That went on fer a while. These figures--jus' moving from right to left!"  
  
"Yes. Stick figures. Right to left. Go on, Ray."  
  
"Oh, yeah. An' after that, the sun jus' got bigger and bigger until it filled up the entire frame."  
  
"Was there anything more?"  
  
"Nope. That was it."  
  
"Well, this was all very interesting."  
  
" 'All very interesting'?! Frase--I had a vision! Do you realize how cool that is?!"  
  
"Yes, well...."  
  
"Aw, jeez, Frase--I'm sorry."  
  
"Would you stop apologizing?! It is hardly your fault."  
  
"I know...but you were...well...I mean....you spent all that time up in nature and all, an' have Eskimo holy men..."  
  
"They are Inuit shamen, Ray."  
  
"Whatever. Ya got them as friends. An' then I come here with my city self and have all these righteous experiences an' you don't get nuthin'."  
  
"Ray?"  
  
"Yeah, Frase?"  
  
"It's another four and one-half hours until we get to Grand Canyon. Would you please just drive."  
  
"Understood." 


End file.
